An Alternate Christmas Tail
by DigiXBot
Summary: Everybody's First Christmas is always monumental. And for Gajeel, it was the time when he and his guildmates saved Christmas... after he attacked a demon named "Sunder Claws." An Alternate Tail story for the holiday season.


**It's been over three years since I first published Alternate Tail. And what better way to celebrate than with a Christmas special!**

**Gajeel: How about, anything else at all?**

**Oh, shut it you grinch! Anyway, this chapter is loosely based on the Christmas omake written by Suzuki Nakaba, the author of the famous "Seven Deadly Sins" series.**

**So good boys and girls, sit down, as I tell you the tale of how the children of Fairy Tail saved Christmas… after Gajeel knocked out "Santa Claus."**

**And if any of you are confused about the casting, then you need to read the "Alternate Tail Series" to understand. By the way, they might be some spoiler for upcoming chapters, but nothing too major or too different from the canon series.**

The streets of Magnolia seemed to be cheerful as multiple lights of red and green dressed the buildings. Stands selling cookies and hot chocolate stood nearby, as warmly-dressed citizens greeted each other.

The Christmas spirit was also present in Fairy Tail. Cana was drinking barrels of egg-nog. Mira, Lisanna, Kinana, Kagura, and Carla were in the kitchen preparing a delicious batch of cookies. Elfman and Lily were setting up the Christmas Tree. Gajeel, Lyon, and Natsu were cleaning the rafters, while Levy, Merudy, and Lucy were sweeping the floors. The Nebula Knights were outside decorating the rooftops of the guildhall, and Erza was directing her guildmates while dressed in a sexy Santa dress.

"That's it!" Erza shouted with passion as she and Bisca whipped the windows clean. "Make sure not a speck of dust is left!"

"Erza's sure is passionate, huh?" Levy commented to Lucy, with both girls taking a break from their task.

"Ever since she learned about Christmas, she's been aiming to make each year better than the last," Lucy explained. "It's really fun to watch."

"Every year? She certainly enjoys giving herself a challenge."

"That's cause Titania's a nut-job," they heard Gajeel say as he came over.

TWACK!"

"Ow!" he shouted as he rubbed the back of his neck while a bucket fell behind him. "The hell's that for?!"

"I can hear you, Gajeel!" Erza shouted back. "And why aren't you cleaning the rafters?!"

"I came to grab some drinks, alright! We're about to start the bell anyway!" he grumbled in annoyance. "Why she always freak out about this…"

"Oh, don't be such a grouch, Gajeel," Levy teased. "Christmas is about spending time with your family. And now me, Merudy, Natsu, Kagura, Carla, Happy, and Frosch get to spend that with you!"

"Eh, I'm sure the Frog-Cat already did, he wasn't sleeping on Tenrou

"Now that I think about it, Kagura and Carla spent much of their lives with Cait Shelter right?" Lucy noted. "Did they have Christmas there?"

"Hmm," Levy hummed as she held a finger to her chin in thought. "When I read some of their text before… that moment… they had celebrations for the Winter Solstice, but not Christmas. Oh my goodness, this might be Kagura and Carla's First Christmas!"

"And Happy's," Lucy added.

"Oh, right, and Happy's. No wonder Erza's so stressed. Well, and Mira of course"

"Well, at least it'll be better than my first Christmas," Gajeel grunted.

"Oh, your first Christmas?" Levy asked. "What was it like?"

(Unbeknownst to her, some Fairy Tail wizards heard and reacted to his stray comment.

"Ah, shit Cana!" Macao shouted as he ran to give the fortune-teller the Heimlich maneuver. "I knew you drank that eggnog to fast!"

"Careful, Jellal-sama," Freed shouted from outside. "You're about to burn the garland!"

"Hey, watch it!" Natsu yelled. "You're gonna make that bell crack with that ice!"

"No, Elfman, don't let go!" Lily roared as he tried to catch the falling Christmas Tree. "Dammit, FourLayeredMagicCircles:Bishamoten'sGuard!")

To her surprise, the Iron Dragon suddenly stiffened. "Uh, what?"

"Your first Christmas at Fairy Tail," Levy replied, curiosity in her tone. "You make it sound like it was bad."

"I never that. I never said anything about-" Gajeel's answer was kept shut when three figures tackled him to the floor.

"Not another world, Gajeel!" Lyon shouted as he held the Dragon Slayer's mouth shut.

"If you even think about mentioning it," Jellal threatened while he and Elfman pinned down his limbs.

"We made a manly promise to never speak of that day again!" Elfman roared

Gajeel broke his mouth free from Lyon's grip and shouted, "I wasn't gonna say anything! Get off me you assholes!"

"...okay," Levy said as she tore her eyes from the… disturbing dog pile… and turned to Lucy, who was watching with rapt interest. "Any idea what that's about?"

Lucy shrugged. "Don't ask me. I joined a couple of months after that Christmas. And so did Erza and Lily, by the way."

"Joined after what?" Erza asked as she and Lily came over, with the Exceed trying to swing his right shoulder in place.

"Seriously, Elfman, leaving me with that massive foliage…"

"Do you guys have any hints about what happened on Gajeel's first Christmas?" Levy asked.

"Hmm," Lily turned his attention from his arm to Levy with confusion. "Not exactly. They seemed very hushed about it, even during the orientation."

"Orientation?"

"Oh right," Lucy said, snapping her fingers with realization. "Because it was the first Christmas for both you and Erza, Cana, Jellal, and Lyon took the time to explain it to you."

"Ah, I remember that day," Erza sighed passionately. "Learning about a new holiday. I learned how Christmas was more exciting than the Winter Solstice Festival we had back in Alvarez. They spend so much time on the lesson, especially on Santa Claus."

"On Santa?" Levy parroted. "And that didn't seem strange?"

"Should it have been?" Lily asked. "After all, he is the center of the holiday." He raised an eyebrow in thought. "Well, other than the 'Christ baby' I heard about."

"Well-"

"Hey, what you guys talking about?" Cana appeared, wrapping an arm around Levy's shoulder. "You talking about Levy's small boobs?"

"Gah, no!" the Letter Mage protested with a flushed face. "We were trying to talk about Gajeel's first Christ-"

"Oh right, it's Kagura's first Christmas, ain't it! I really need to get her something nice, maybe a card deck. You never too early to-"

"Cana, what are you doing?" Lucy asked sternly.

"Huh?"

"You're acting very odd," Lily stated. "In fact, I have never seen you this tense since you were teaching Erza and I about Christmas."

"Hey, is it wrong to take it seriously!" Cana protested. "I was only making sure you two knew so you wouldn't mess up with-" she suddenly bit her tongue and looked away.

"Mess with what?" Erza questioned. "Cana, what exactly are you hid-"

"What's going on?" the Knight's question was interrupted when Kagura and Carla running towards them, with Mira and Lisanna following.

"Oh, it's nothing?" Cana waved. "Just talking about Christmas, including the parts we _don't _want to talk about." She aimed her eyes at the Strauss siblings, who both stiffened in response.

"Oh, right," Mira laughed, a pitch too high to be real. "It's nothing you guys got to worry about."

"Are you sure?" Kagura asked, a bit of suspicion escaping her.

"Totally!" Lisanna giggled. "Nothing to hide!

The other girls looked at each other. "You're all lying, are you?" Levy deadpanned.

"Wha- I don't know what you mean?" Cana asked.

"Don't think I'm falling for that," Levy sighed. "Look, we don't want to force you guys. And we don't care if it's embarrassing. We just want to know what's gotten you seven all winded up."

Cana, Mira, and Lisanna looked at each other. "Well, it has been years since then," the youngest offered.

"Yeah, it gets dull after a while to keep it shut," Cana mused.

"I guess it would make sense if you know it!"

"You can't be serious!" they all turned to the dog-piled Gajeel. "What part of keeping quiet did you people forgot about?!"

"Oh, calm down, Gajeel," Mira berated. "We've been keeping it a secret for way too long."

"If it was tragic, then it could be an educational service for all of us," Lily offered.

"Besides, it might be fun," Kagura offered.

"There's no better way to know a Fairy Tail Christmas than learning about the old ones," Levy happily added.

The four long-timed fairies were silent before sighing, as more of their guildmates gathered around.

"It certainly reduces the stress we face every year," Jellal noted

"Well, it might not have been that embarrassing in hindsight," Lyon commented, crossing his arms in thought.

Elfman thumped a fist against his chest. "Frankly, sharing our past is simply manly!"

Gajeel sighed as everyone sat in a large circle. "Alright then, since you're all too fucking curious, pay attention. It all started seven-"

"Fourteen," Cana corrected.

Gajeel's eyes squinted in annoyance. "Erg, fourteen years ago."

* * *

December 25, X777

"I was minding my own business, walking down the street when I saw everyone was acting weird."

_The child Gajeel was wearing a black jacket as he walked across the snow-coated streets. However, he couldn't help but notice that things were different._

_Cords with red and green bulbs wrapped around buildings like vines. Circles that looked to be made from pine trees covered the doors. _

"_The hell's going on?" he grumbled. He already knew little about why people in this town acted so cheerful the rest of the year, so this amount of merriness was completely alien to him. He was so distracted he wasn't paying attention when turning a corner-_

_CRASH._

"_Fuck!" he snarled as he fell back to the snow._

"_Hey, watch where you-" a shrill voice shouted before calming down. "Oh, it's you, lugnut."_

_Recognizing the voice, Gajeel lifted his head to see 12-Year Old Mirajane Strauss standing over him in her purple parka._

"_What's up with you?" Mira snarked. "You look dumber than usual."_

"_Ah, sock it, demon," Gajeel snarked back before glaring at the streets. "Just trying to figure out what's everyone's doing with those decorations."_

"_Huh?" Mira asked. "What are you-" she paused in realization. 'That's right. Gajeel grew up with a dragon, so he wouldn't know about Christmas.' An amused smirk crossed her face. 'So why not have a little fun?'_

"_Don't you know what today is?" she asked as she masked her cunningness with casual taunting._

"_Eh," Gajeel grumbled. "Some green-and-red day?"_

"_I forgot how clueless you are. It's Christmas Eve," she leaned in to whisper to his ear. "The day that Sunder Claws comes."_

_Gajeel eyes widened. "What's a Sunder Claws?"_

"_Sunder Claws a powerful demon that comes every Christmas to try to kill people and make them its sacrifice," Mira explained, happily noting how fixated the dragon slayer was. "Legends say that it reaps their souls and keeps it in its sack while using their blood to dye its coat read."_

"_No way… wait a minute," Gajeel said. "If this Sunder Claws goes around killing people, why is everybody so happy?"_

"_Why you think I mention legends then?" she countered. "The slaughter stopped when people learned that Sunder Claws can be kept out with red and green lights and garlands. Everyone's happy that they have another year without worrying about their souls being stuffed into a bag."_

"_Hmm," Gajeel grumbled. "You might be right…"_

"_But that doesn't mean it still isn't out there, climbing over rooftops and looking for a vulnerable house. They say its power is on the same level as a Wizard Saint." When she saw Gajeel staring back in confusion she sighed. "Someone on Master's level. Sunder Claws is so tough, not even I'm crazy enough to take it on. So you better watch out, and better not cry~" she waved as she walked past him and down the street._

_Gajeel stood in silence for a few seconds before smirking. "A demon not even that freak can beat. If I take down, Sunder Claws, then she and Ice Prick are gonna have to start listening to me! Ghi hi hi!" with his ambition set, he marched down the way to charge up on some iron._

_Once Mira knew that she was out of Gajeel's hearing range (and it was a long walk cause of his ridiculous dragon ears) she started to break down in laughter._

'Honestly Mirajane,' _she heard Beelzea scoff in annoyance. "_A ridiculous childish prank?'

'_Oh, lighten up, Beelzea,' she replied casually. 'All he has to do is ask someone and he'll get the real answer. I might as well milk on his stupidity as long as I can.'_

* * *

"I can't believe you, Mira," Erza said with a scowl, crossing her arms in disappointment. "Saying such a blatant lie to Gajeel about a wonderful holiday. You took advantage of his lack of knowledge and his innocence."

"How could you do such a thing?" Kagura asked in horror, making the Takeover flinch.

"Innocence? You're still talking about Gajeel, right?" Levy asked.

"First, I was 12," Mira argued. "And second, I didn't think Gajeel was stupid enough to go picking fights with 'Sunder Claws.'"

"Well, it was Gajeel," Lyon said. "What did you expect?"

"Excuse me, Ice Prick?!"

Lily coughed "Anyway, you were saying."

"I can handle this one," Lisanna replied. "While Mira-nee was telling lies to Gajeel-"

"Et Tu, Lisanna."

"We were preparing for Christmas the normal way. Sort of…"

* * *

Past

"_What are you doing?" Young Lisanna asked as Lyon placed a plate of carrot next to a plate of cookies and a mug of milk._

_Lyon blinked. "What? I'm only placing carrots for St. Nick's horses."_

_Cana groaned. "For the last time, Lyon. It's Santa and his reindeers that are coming, not St. Nickel!"_

"_St. Nicholas!" Lyon argued back._

"_Don't fight, you two," Jellal chided as he and Elfman decorated the small Christmas tree (Or small by Fairy Tail, given it was only twice Elfman's height). "Todays the holidays. We should spend the day getting along."_

"_You guys started yet!" Mira hollered as she through entered the door._

"_Just about to put the star," Elfman replied. He looked around. "Have any of you seen Gajeel?"_

"_Nah, it's been peaceful without him," Lyon commented dryly._

"_He shouldn't be out in the cold like this," Cana said. "Maybe we should go after him…"_

"_Does it really matter?" Mira argued. "It's Gajeel. The Metalhead's a complete lone wolf."_

"_Yeah, but no one should be alone on Christmas," Elfman said_

"_And if he doesn't hurry, he'll miss Santa!" Lisanna added. "Master said he'll be coming to give our presents."_

"_Don't worry, Gajeel will come eventually," Jellal reassured. "At least to try Christmas dinner." He suddenly frowned. "Wait, did any of us explain to him about Christmas?"_

_Everyone (sans Mira, who merely shrugged) looked at each other sheepishly._

"_Oh, dear."_

* * *

"Wow," Levy blinked in amazement. "You guys were so different back then."

"That's the part that interests you?" Carla asked, causing Levy to smile sheepishly.

"I'm just saying."

"Hey, I'm sure that Elfman and Jellal have changed a lot since then," Cana teased, causing the two to roll their eyes. "But I like to say that I'm still that same girl all those years ago." She grabbed a mug of spiked eggnog and drowned the entire content in one drink.

"Sure, still the same girl," Mira deadpanned.

"I think I can take over from here," Makarov said as he came over.

"Wait, you were involved too, Master?" Kagura asked.

He merely chuckled "Who did you think Santa was? Gildarts?"

* * *

_On top of the guildhall's rooftop, Makarov adjusted the red coat over his tiny body. "Gah, why I even agreed to put this on, it's so itchy." He shook his head, shaking the white beard tied to face with it. "Ah, worry about it later, Makarov. You got presents to deliver."_

_He knew that his seven cute brats were inside waiting for Santa, and he can't wait to see their faces when they receive the custom selected presents he got them._

_Especially Gajeel. Out of all the kids, that joined since Cana, he was the most troublesome. So dedicated to getting stronger so he can go out and find his father Metalicana (Who the Wizard Saint has some choice words regarding leaving the boy behind, but that was for another time) that he either ignored or fight with the other kids. He hoped that the present he picked can help the dragon slayer open up._

_A wooden crack pulled him out of his thoughts. "Woops!" he leaped away before the wood would give in. "Note to self, get some of my older brats to fix that up. I can't have any of them freezing to death from a hole in the ceiling._

"_Now then," he chuckled as he gripped the bag of presents while he approached the stacks that lead to the smoke-ovens in the guild's kitchen. "Time to take a page from '_The Night Before Christmas' _and-"_

"_Rahhh!" he heard a loud and childish shout before something grabbed him from behind, forcing him to drop his sack._

"_Gah!" Makarov stumbled back as the attacker covered his eyes. "Get off me, you thief!"_

"_I got you now, Sunder Claws!" he heard his foe shout._

'_Wait, that voice? Could it be-'_

_His train of thought was interrupted when he heard the wood crack beneath him. "Oh no."_

_And then they both fall through the roof._

* * *

_Gajeel's plan was foolproof. Since Sunder Claws was always jumping around rooftops trying to find a house to break in, all he needed to do was wait on top of the guildhall._

_And there he saw him. In the cover of night, he could barely make out the blood-stained coat and the sack full of souls. Luckily, the demon seemed distracted, giving Gajeel_

_He was already wearing him down-_

* * *

"Yeah, right," Makarov chuckled. "It's a thousand years to early for you to even try that."

"Hey, don't interrupt me, old man!"

* * *

_When the roof broke down beneath them, sending them through the roof. Gajeel and the demon screamed on the way down. Luckily, Gajeel had Sunder Claws break his fall._

"_Ohh…" he groaned. "I'm alive? I'm ali-"_

"_Gajeel, what did you do this time?!" the annoying voice of Ice Prick interrupted his victory chant._

_He turned around and saw Ice Prick, She-Demon, Cards, Tattoo-Face, and Elfboy all staring at him with gobsmacked expressions. And Cat-Ears was there too, but she looked like she a puppy murdered._

_"I… just took down Sunder Claws, " he proudly proclaimed. "Took care of that demon forever. Your welcome!"_

_"'Sunder Claws?'" Lyon narrowed his eyes. "Who in the world is Sunder Claws?"_

_"Duh, the demon right there, " Gajeel pointed at the unconscious man beneath him._

_"Santa's not a demon, you jerk!" Lisanna shouted as she ran off to check up on Santa, not noticing her older sister flinch. "He was only here to bring us presents!"_

_" You know that 'Santa' must be Master, right?" Cana whispered to Jellal._

_"I think the night is stressful enough without that revelation." He replied in an equally hushed tone._

_"You think he's okay?"_

_"At worst grandfather might only get a concussion. He'll wake up in a couple of hours."_

_Trying to show he wasn't caught off guard by the younger girl's outburst, Gajeel gruffed "Santa, who the hell's that?"_

_"Santa Claus is the man that goes around delivering presents, " Elfman explained. "But, but where did you get that idea of Sunder Claws?"_

_"From She-Demon. She said Sunder Claws was going around taking souls."_

_Mira nearly wilted away when everyone turned their eyes onto her. "I-I didn't expect him to do that. I told him that Sunder Claws was crazy strong and..."_

_The tears that misted in Lisanna's eyes were further daggers in her heart. "Mira-nee, how could you?"_

"_I…"_

"_Great," Lyon groaned. "With Santa knocked out, Christmas is ruined…"_

"_No!" Mira suddenly shouted. "Christmas isn't ruined, because we're going to save it!"_

"_What?" everyone asked in a surprise shout._

"_There's no other option."_

"_How about any other option?" Gajeel deadpanned. "Any at all?"_

"_No use trying to put the breaks on this thing!" she argued. "I'm going to fix Christmas even if I have to do it myself!"_

"_No way, nee-san," Elfman said, a big smile stretched on his face. "I'm_

"_Me too!" Lisanna added._

"_As if I'm backing out from this either," Lyon stated, crossing his arms with pride._

"_We won't stand by for this either," Jellal spoke up._

_Cana chuckled. "Besides, you'll need all the help if you want to deliver gifts to everybody."_

"_Keh," Gajeel scoffed, causing everyone to turn to him. "This is the craziest idea you assholes have." He suddenly smirked. "But I don't want to be left out of it!"_

"_Good!" Mira said. "Now, we can't make toys, so treats are the only way. Cana, Elfman, Lyon, I saw a sled in the back. You guys get it ready with everything you can."_

"_No problem, I can sew up a mean Santa coat," Cana boasted as the three ran off._

"_Hmm, reindeer, huh?" Lyon muttered. "Never did that before. And eight all at once. This won't be easy…"_

"_The rest of us will be making snacks. They must be about a hundred kids in Magnolia, so we need to split it between us. Got it."_

"_Right!"_

* * *

_One hour later, a red-painted sled was parked in the center of the guildhall, the back of it filled to the brim with tiny bags filled with cookies, biscuits, and other sorts of desserts. Bell-tied reins linked the sled to eight reindeer made of ice, all lined two at a row and awaiting orders._

"_It's looking good so far," Jellal noted._

"_Yeah, took the time to get it painted once we got the costume and the reindeer ready," Cana replied casually._

"_What's wrong with you?" Gajeel grunted at Lyon, who was frantically shaking his right hand, which was covered with frost._

"_Heh, you try making eight versions of a creature you're not familiar with."_

"_My magic doesn't work that way, Ice Prick."_

"_Urg, I'm glad no one's asking for Rudolph."_

"_It's not that foggy out. Maybe you should try using both hands?" Lisanna suggested._

"_Not happening," the ice mage sighed. "Is there anything else we need to talk about."_

"_I got one," Elfman spoke up. He was wearing a red-coat with white trimmings. "Why do I have to be Santa?"_

_Gajeel smirked. "Cause you're the fattest, obviously. Ghihihi- oww!" he rubbed his neck where Mira land a fast chop. "What was that for?!"_

"_Stop taunting, lugnut," she snarked harshly, before putting on a more gentle expression for her brother. "Don't listen to him, Elfman. You're not fat, you're pleasantly plump."_

"_Aww, thanks Nee-san," he sheepishly replied, before frowning. "I don't think that's any better."_

"_Anyway, enough chatter," the Demon Takeover spoke up. "We gotta get these presents delivered!" _

"_Yeah!" The kids started to get loaded onto the sled one by one._

"_Let's save Christmas!" Elfman shouted as he grabbed onto the reins. "Ho ho- cough!" he stopped his laughing. "How does Santa do that all night?"_

"_This parts mine," Lyon announced as he held up his hand. "On Dasher! On Dancer! On Prancer and Vixen!" the ice reindeer began to walk as they pushed the door open. "Now, Comet! Now Cupid! Now, Dunder and Blixem!"_

"_You know you got the starts mixed up, right?" Elfman commented._

"_Does that really matter?"_

"_What matters is that we're going too slow!" Cana gripped._

"_On it!" Lyon shouted, taking off his shirt and throwing it overboard._

"_That's no excuse to strip!" she protested. Though luckily, it did make the reindeer move in a faster canter._

"_That's should do," Lyon boasted, before turning to Gajeel, who was lying on the floor of the sled. "What's with you."_

"_Ohhhh…" Gajeel moaned. "Fuck off… I feel weird."_

"_Wait, do you have… motion sickness. Seriously?"_

* * *

"And that's the day I learned that vehicles hate me," Gajeel said. "Though I just summed it back to Ice Prick's lousy antelope."

"They were reindeer."

"Don't care."

"Can we get back to the story?" Levy asked impatiently. "What happened next?"

"Well, while Lyon did as good of a job with the reindeer as he could," Lisanna answered. "It wasn't enough."

* * *

"_It's still not enough," Mira argued. "It'll take all night to get this done."_

"_Hmm, leave that to me." Before she could speak up, Jellal leaped out of the sled and pressed his hands against the back. "Hold on."_

"_Hold on?" Elfman asked, terror in his voice. "What do you mean hold-"_

"_Meteor!" a small golden aura surrounded Jellal, rocketing him, and in turn the sled, through the streets._

"_Wow!" Lisanna cheered. "We're almost flying now!"_

"_You bet we are, Lisanna," Mira teased._

"_It got worst…" Gajeel grumbled in agony._

"_Cana, where we go first?"_

"_Give me a second," Cana replied as she checked her cards while making sure they won't fly off. "We gotta go to 3159 West 11th Street!"_

"_Got it!" and onward they traveled, moving through the maze of snow-covered paths, doing their best to avoid random pedestrians._

"_Be more careful!" Cana shouted as she grabbed the reins and turned the reindeers in time away from a frightened old woman. "You almost ran over that grandma with our reindeers."_

"_Sorry!" Elfman yelled back. "But we're going too fast!"_

"_Never mind that!" Mira argued. "How close are we?"_

"_Just one last left turn!"_

"_Got it!" Elfman and Lyon shouted as they made their move to get the reindeer to turn._

_But between the icy road and how fast the reindeer were going, the only outcome was all eight ice beasts slipping off their feet, leaving the sled on a crash course to a brick wall._

"_Oh, crap…" Mira gasped. "Jellal, slow us down!"_

"_R-right!" the blue-haired boy gritted his teeth as he grabbed the rails of the sled and projected his magic to push himself backward and pull the sled with him._

"_We're not slowing down enough," Lisanna gasped. "We're gonna crash!_

"_Urgh," Gajeel pulled himself from the floor and onto _

"_Are you trying to run out of this?!" Mira accused._

"_Throw… me… at… wall…"_

"_What?" Mira looked ahead and saw that the left-side building closest to them on the corner had a stone column._

"_Of course…" Lyon gasped. "Cana, we need some rope!"_

"_Right! Card Magic, Hanged Man!" Cana held up a card that glowed and stretched out to a long strand of white rope, which she tied around Gajeel's waist._

"_We throw him on three," Mira said as she and Lyon picked up Gajeel. "One, two…"_

"_Three!" Lyon shouted as they threw him towards the column._

_Free from the vehicle, Gajeel expelled his vertigo and smirked in delight. "Nice. Iron Dragon's Sword!" transforming his arm into a blade that he stuck into the column_

"_Everyone pull!" the five kids left on the sled held tightly on the rope, causing the sled to be curled towards the left street. The sled's changing momentum pulled Gajeel free._

"_Ghihi!" he laughed. "You got saved by Gajeel Red- Ohhhhohohh!" as soon as he landed back on the sled, nausea hit him full force._

"_Nice thinking, Gajeel," Lyon said with relief. "Guess you're smarter than you look."_

"_Shut up… ice prick… ohhh…."_

_Soon the sled came to a stop in front of a white house decorated with red and green lights on the rooftop._

"_We made it," Mira sighed in relief. "Now let's give presents, how many we got?"_

"_Hmm, about three kids," Cana answered. "Cratchit family."_

"_Your fortunes can really tell you that?" Lisanna asked in awe._

"_Nah, I just looked at the mailbox," she pointed at the mailbox, which had the family name and cutouts of a family of five on the side._

_Mira jumped off with three bags of sweets and walked to the door, where she pushed them through the mail slot. "Alright, one house down, 99 to go! You're all with me?"_

"_Yah!"_

* * *

_Five hours after they left, a battered sled was slowly dragged by ice reindeer that fell apart as soon as they arrived._

"_Finally," Cana yawned. "You knew delivering presents took so much time."_

"_How does, *yawn*, Santa does this for an entire night?" Lisanna muttered_

"_He must have some really strong magic," Jellal said, lying against the sled_

_Gajeel pulled himself over the railing and moaned on the way to the floor. "I am never getting on another vehicle again."_

"_Well, we still did it, right?" Lyon said, stumbling as he got off. "We managed to deliver to every kid in Magnolia._

"_And that's what matters," Mira proclaimed. "Despite some mistakes earlier, we managed to save Christmas. Right?"_

"_Yeah…" most of them cheered, thought with far little enthusiasm._

"_Well," Elfman smiled in relief. "at least we can finally sleep-"_

"_Gah!" And all of sudden, Santa Calus sprung awake and started screaming._

"_AHHHHH!"_

* * *

_Makarov returned to consciousness with an aching headache and a rising annoyance. "WHO'S THE RUDE PUNK THAT ATTACK ME?! IF YOU'RE SOME DIRTY THIEF, THEN STAY AWAY FROM MY CHILDREN-"_

"_Santa, please calm down!" he heard a young girl (Lisanna, definitely Lisanna) say. With red leaving his eyes, he saw his brats all around him, wearing coats, covered in snow and… Elfman was dressed as Santa?_

"_W-what happened?"_

"_Do you... remember anything Santa?" Lyon asked him cautiously._

"_Err, I guess," he rubbed his head, a bruise present where he crashed into the wooden floor. "Now can any of you tell me what happened."_

"_I kicked your ass," Gajeel bluntly answered. "I thought you were a demon."_

"_Excuse me?! Where did you get that idea?!"_

"_It… it was my fault," Mira interrupted sheepishly as she rubbed her right arm. "I told him that you were a demon called 'Sunder Claws' as a prank. I didn't think he would attack you…"_

"_But we tried to fix things by delivering presents!" Elfman quickly defended. "We couldn't find your sack of toys, so Nee-san rallied all of us to make presents for all the kids in Magnolia!"_

"_We should have explained to Gajeel about Christmas earlier," Jellal added. "Otherwise this mess wouldn't have happened."_

"_So… it was kinda all our fault," Cana finished. "And if you're gonna blame Mira, the_

"_If you want to give us coal, that's fine," Lyon said proudly. "We'll take whatever you dish out."_

"_All for one and one for all!" Lisanna cheered_

"_Heh, not sure how coal's a bad thing, but count me in too."_

_A part of Makarov was disappointment that Mira would pull such a trick, especially during the holidays. But it was clear that from both her actions and the accounts from the others that she took matters to fix her mistake. And that disappointment was snuffed out by pride in both her and all of his precious children._

"_Well, I hate to disappoint, but delivering presents to the entire town earns all of you a spot on the Nice List. And that only means… one thing _

"_Alright!" most of the boys and Cana cheered, strumming chords of joy in his heart._

_Mira smiled at the man in gratitude. "Thank you, Santa Claus."_

"_Just make sure this never happens again and we'll be even." He turned to Gajeel. "And no more picking fights with people on rooftops."_

_Gajeel only smirked back. "No promise, old man."_

_Makarov merely chuckled back. "Now, you said you couldn't find my magic sack, right?" before they could answer, he jumped up past the ceiling hole, snagged the sack from the rooftop where he dropped it during Gajeel's scuffle, and gracefully come down. "Luckily I left it nearby."_

"_Our presents!" Elfman exclaimed._

_Makarov reached into the sack and handed out their gifts one by one. "Here you. Don't go losing it so soon."_

"_The Minor Arcana set!" Cana squealed in delight. "That'll make my fortunes much more accurate!"_

"_A new telescope!" Jellal awed. "Thank you gra-Santa!"_

"_Just what I needed!" Lyon proclaimed as he held up his gift. "New clothes."_

"_Good, cause you need them now!" Cana snarked at the half-naked ice mage._

"_It's so fluffy!" Lisanna cooed as she rubbed the arctic fox toy onto her face. "I love it!"_

"_A book about poetry," Elfman marveled at the text in his hand. "Wow, this gives me an idea for a new one. Thanks, Santa"_

"_Alright!" Mira smirked. "I really needed a new punching bag! The last one broke two days ago!"_

"_What is this?" Gajeel asked, perplexed at the small plastic item with many holes in his hands._

"_That's a harmonica," Lyon explained. "You blow into it to make music."_

"_Mu-sic?" Gajeel looked down at the object, held it up to his mouth, and blew…_

_Through the wrong side and making a high pitched shriek that terrified the others._

"_Gahh!" Jellal winced as he held tight against his ears. "Stop it Gajeel, you're going to deafen all of us!"_

"_Ghi hi hi!" Gajeel laughed when he finished playing. "This is awesome!"_

_Mira groaned. "We'll be dealing with that for a while."_

'_A hobby will certainly help him open up,' Makarov thought fondly. "Well, I best be going now." He proclaimed, turning around to walk to the door, planning to step out so he can fix that hole in the roof without anyone noticing. "Make sure you get home safely."_

"_Aren't you going to stay?" Lisanna asked._

"_I wish I could, but I still have a lot of presents to deliver." He let out a big smile. "But even if I'm gone, I'll always be in your heart."_

"_We'll remember that Santa," Mira replied._

_Makarov chuckled as he opened the door and stepped out. "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night."_

"_Merry Christmas!" the Fairy Tail kids replied as he closed the door._

"_And there he goes," Cana chuckled. "You want to tell them?"_

"_And ruin the moment?" Mira joked back. "No way."_

"_Hey, Mira-nee."_

"_Hmm? What is it?" she turned to her younger sister, who gave her the biggest smile in her whole life._

"_This was the best Christmas ever!"_

_Mira smiled back and pulled her into a tight hug. "Of all time."_

"_Hey, it ain't over yet!" Gajeel piped up. "Not without some Christmas mu-sic!"_

_The others looked at him in pure horror. "Wait, Gajeel don't- GAAAHHHH!"_

* * *

"And that's how Gajeel got into music," Lyon said to the gobsmacked audience.

"Huh," Merudy blinked. "I got to admit, that explains so much."

"No wonder we got stuck with that torture…" muttered Natsu.

"Hey, what you say, Salamander?!" Gajeel snarled.

"It did get him to socialize in a way, so I call it a success," Makarov stated. "A painful success, but still a success."

"Was that really the reason you kept quiet?" Levy asked in disbelief.

"Part of it," Jellal responded. "They were a few others…Freed, what are you doing?" He asked when he spotted his friend struggling to hold back tears.

"Forgive me, but that, that was the most beautiful story I ever heard, " Freed proclaimed.

"Well, that doesn't mean you have to cry over it, " Evergreen stated.

"All of you acted in the best interest for the holidays," Lily said with misty eyes. "I shouldn't expect less from all of you..."

"That was the greatest story I ever heard," Kagura said, clapping her hands together in delight. "Thank you for telling us."

"No problem, Kagura," Mira happily replied.

"It was certainly educational," Carla noted. "Especially on the importance of teaching others their holidays

"I thought the lesson was not to fight on weak rooftops," Happy said.

"I suppose that too."

"It was really cute too," Levy added. "You were so adorable back then.

"Hey, I am not adorable!" Gajeel protested. "I'm badass!"

"This story… was simply inspirational," Erza proclaimed with tears, then rose up onto her feet. "I now know what we shall do for next year's holidays! We shall make treats and deliver them to the children of Magnolia door to door!"

"Wow, easy there, Erza," Lucy interrupted. "Let's not get carried away. That's still a year away"

"Nonsense, it's perfect to start planning now! We can have Lyon make ice reindeer, and Lisanna can be Rudolph! Rogue and Kagura can be the elves-"

"And Lily can be Santa cause he's old!" Natsu added cheekily.

"Don't test my patience Natsu," Lily grumbled in annoyance. "

As everyone began talking about next year's plan, Levy heard a laugh behind her and turned around to see Gajeel. "So, liking this so far?"

Levy smiled back. "I'll give it to you, Christmas in Fairy Tail is like nothing else."

**Aww, that was fun.**

**Mira: That was so adorable.**

**Lucy: Uh, you tricked Gajeel into thinking that Santa was a demon and that le**

**Mira: Yes, I was a little hellion back then, wasn't I?**

**Lyon: Wasn't it Happy that tricked Natsu, and Natsu was an adult in that omake…**

**Yeah, but I felt this way makes more sense. Anyway-**

**Erza: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!**

**Gah, dang it Erza! You stole my moment. Urgh, Happy Holidays, everybody**


End file.
